Hi friends – I hope you get a chance to tune into WYLL/AM1160 every weekday at 8:30 am, starting today, for my daily “parenting tip” sponsored by Matt’s Cookies! I’m excited about this new opportunity and meeting folks that I might not have before.

If you are finding my blog for the first time, it’s great that you are here!

We’ll soon be regularly posting the tips on the website, so stay tuned.

Thanks for stopping by. . .

Betsy

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Happy Veterans Day! Thanks to all of you who are currently serving, or have served our country to preserve our freedoms! Thank you for your sacrifice.

If your kids have a grandparent or other relative or older friend who served, here’s a suggestion – how about having your kids call them with a big thank you? If you yourself mom or dad are serving or have served, let your kids thank you! You more than anyone know vets need the appreciation, and our kids need to express it.

And here’s a great movie suggestion for the whole family. “Sargent York.” Based on the real life story of WWI’s most famous veteran, it’s themes of duty and sacrifice are great for the whole family.

Have a great day – and thanks for stopping by.

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Hi Friends – don’t forget to vote, and take your kids with you – let them see the process!

Betsy Bart

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In about 36 hours, I will have roughly 350 pounds of candy stashed throughout my house. The question is, what to do NOW to plan for all that (or for getting rid of some of it, or at least for slowing down its consumption.)

Beverly Rothstein is a nutritionist and child obesity expert. She’ll be a guest on my radio show on Sunday. In the meantime, here are her tips for “limiting the damage” tomorrow night (for both kids and parents). Enjoy – and thanks for stopping by!

The bane of everyone’s nightmares are those little Trick or Treating kids that gather “tons” of goodies each Halloween.

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“Words Kids Need to Hear: To Help them to be Who God Made them To Be”

That’s a new book by David Staal, my friend and head of children’s ministry at Willow Creek Community Church in South Barrington.

This is a little book with big ideas – Daviud says there are seven statements kids need to hear, audibly or otherwise, from their parents:

I believe in you
You can count on me
I treasure you
I’m sorry, please forgive me
Because
No
I love you

David will be a guest on my radio show tomorrow, but I wanted to let you know about his new book, out now from Zondervan, today. You can of course get it from Amazon, or any Christian book store. You’ll be so glad you did!

Thanks for stopping by – Betsy Hart

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For all you moms and dads getting ready to send off your well brought up children to college next fall – watch out. Professor Donna Freitas writes in her new book, “Sex and the Soul,” that you may have missed the part of the campus tour which dealt with the rampant sex culture at college, including theme parties like “CEOs and Prostitutes.” She wrote about her extensive research and findings in yesterday’s WSJ, and every parent should see this!

Sex on Campus

Donna will be my guest on the radio show tomorrow, so be sure to tune in.

As always, thanks for stopping by!

Betsy Hart

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Here’s a really good piece from yesterday’s New York Times. It seems that not just how much TV a child watches, but where he watches it, is key to how much it will affect him for the worse. As many as HALF of American kids have televisions in their bedrooms. Moms and Dads of America – get those TV sets out of there!

Get the TV out of the Kids’ Bedrooms

Happy Parenting – Betsy

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Hi Friends – I took my two older  kids to see Spiderwick Chronicles this weekend (it’s third in the box office ratings) and I really liked it, and so did my kids.  Very scary, but no foul language or sexual content.

I didn’t quite know what to expect from the movie, but one of my daughters had devoured the books the movie was based on, so off we went.  There is lots of action, and and a good and redemptive story line.

But it’s the subtle but clear messages that I liked most, messages about the meaning, value, and definition of family, and a dad who chooses to separate from his wife and children – which is presented in the film as meaning he’s sadly chosen to live “outside the circle of safety.”

I also like that this is no, “I am single mom hear me roar” diatribe.  Just the opposite.  Mom is beautifully holding her family together, but Dad’s importance is strongly felt in his very absence from the home.  In fact, in one scene it’s clear that in leaving his family, he’s put his family into physical danger!   S0, this actually becomes a “pro” husband and father message we just don’t get enough of in our culture today.

I  hope you get a chance to enjoy the film.
Happy Parenting – Betsy

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Hi friends – here’s a great piece from the New York Times magazine on Sunday about the importance of “play” – for all of us! I know that when it comes to our kids, it’s easy to forget how important fun is. (The author will be guest on the radio show this week, more on that later.)

The Business of Play

Happy Parenting!

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Happy Valentine’s Day. Be sure to tune into “It Takes a Parent” today when producer Lynne and “favorite mom” Anne Morton and I talk about teens and romance and the “chemistry of love.” We’ll look at the findings from recent studies that love really is a lot like, well, drugs.

So then, is romance, even apart from sex, something our teens should be encouraged to engage in, as our culture wants them to?

You can listen live on WYLL/AM1160 Chicago at 2:00 central, or here after the show.

Thanks for tuning in! And happy Valentine’s Day.

Betsy

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